NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. to Deliver Monmouth University Commencement Address

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – NASA Administrator, the Honorable Charles F. Bolden Jr., will address Monmouth University graduates at the University’s 78th commencement ceremony and receive an honorary degree on Wednesday, May 18 at 1:30 pm at PNC Bank Arts Center. Bolden is a former astronaut and retired U.S. Marine Corps major general. Alfred J. Schiavetti, Jr., president of Navesink Associates, will also receive an honorary degree during the ceremony

Charles F. Bolden Jr. Nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, retired Marine Corps Major General Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., began his duties as the 12th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on July 17, 2009. He is the first African-American to head the agency on a permanent basis.

Bolden’s confirmation marks the beginning of his second stint with the nation’s space agency. His thirty-four-year career with the Marine Corps included fourteen years as a member of NASA’s Astronaut Office. After joining the office in 1980, he traveled to orbit four times aboard the space shuttle between 1986 and 1994, commanding two of the missions. His flights included deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope and the first joint U.S.-Russian shuttle mission, which featured a cosmonaut as a member of his crew.

Bolden retired from the Marine Corps in 2003. His military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. In May 2006, he was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. He received a BS in electrical science from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968 and earned an MS in systems management from University of California in 1977.

Alfred J. Schiavetti, Jr. is president of Navesink Associates, a business consulting firm which he formed in 1997. Mr. Schiavetti was elected to the Monmouth University Board of Trustees in 1997. He has served with notable distinction as treasurer from 1998 to 2004, as vice chair from 2004 to 2007 and as chair of the Board from 2007 to 2010, during which time the University has moved to new levels of financial strength and academic excellence. In addition, he was chair of the 2003 Presidential Search Committee. He is dedicated to community service and has served as chair of the board at Riverview Medical Center Foundation and the Rumson Country Day School. He graduated from Williams College in 1961 and from New York University with an MBA in 1969. He and his wife Barbara reside in Fair Haven, NJ.